Across The Pond
by ShrinkingViolet713
Summary: A phone call from London sends Mac and Stella across the pond on a mission that will change their lives forever.
1. Chapter 1

Mac Taylor hated paperwork. It was, however, part of running his lab so everyday he tried to set aside a couple of hours to deal with the messes that consistently ended up in front of him. He heard the door to his office whoosh open softly and looked up, the lines on his face melting into a gentle smile when he saw the face of his girlfriend of the past six months, Stella Bonasera, in his doorway.

"Hey," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Nice work on the Hanson case today."

"Thanks. Are we still on for dinner?" One of the things Stella loved about Mac was that he somehow walked the line between being there for her whenever she needed and being careful not to smother her.

"Yeah, I just need about two hours to clear this mess of my desk. Is that okay?"

"No problem. I'll get it started so it should be ready when you get there." Stella winked. "See you soon."

Mac watched her walk to the elevator, stopping briefly to chat with Lindsay and Don before all three boarded the elevator to head home. Their relationship had come about slowly, somewhat unintentionally. It had been nearly eight months before that Stella had come over after work to have dinner and watch a movie. They had fallen asleep on the couch, and during the night had shifted so that when the sunrise woke them the next morning, Mac was lying on his back with Stella on top of him. But instead of the situation being awkward, both had felt something click. It felt so incredibly right to wake up together, to get ready for work together (Stella kept an emergency bag of clothes at his apartment just as he kept one at hers), and to drive to the office together.

It had been a slow process though; Mac was even more reserved after Peyton had dumped him by mail and Stella had been very worried that she was going to lose her best friend if things between them didn't work out. And with her record, she was afraid they wouldn't.

Mac was just about to finish his latest supply requisition form (where did all of the rubber bands manage to disappear to?) when the phone rang. "Taylor," he answered, pulling another form in front of him.

"Mac," the voice on the other end was weaker than he remembered it, almost broken sounding.

"Peyton," he said, his attention diverted from the forms. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry to bother you at work, but there's something that I have to tell you." He could hear Peyton take a deep breath, one that sounded like she was wheezing slightly, and then she continued. "I have cancer. Breast cancer. It's quite advanced."

"I'm so sorry, Peyton," Mac whispered.

"There's more though. I…we…about two months after you left, I found out I was pregnant."

Mac drew a sharp breath. "I have a child? You didn't think I might like to know?"

"I know that you would have wanted to know. You're a good man Mac; you would have come here to be with us. Or you would have wanted us to go back to America. But all that would have done is made one of us miserable in the long run. I couldn't ask you to do that. But now, I've had a double mastectomy and chemo and radiation. But it didn't work. The cancer metastized to my liver and my lungs and my stomach and I'm going to die. I need you to come get our daughter, to raise her."

Mac sat in his office, frozen to his chair, trying to process everything that Peyton had told him. She was sick, dying. And they had a daughter. "Peyton," he said softly, his voice cracking. "Are you sure?"

"She needs to be with her father, Mac. My parents have been wonderful, but they're just not young enough to raise an infant."

"I wasn't…I meant your diagnosis. Do you want to come here? I'll get you the best doctors in the city."

Peyton smiled weakly. "I've already spoken with the top oncologist in London, Mac."

"What's her name?" he finally asked softly.

"Emily Claire Taylor. She'll be one next week. Please, Mac. I…I need you to do this, sooner rather than later. Everyday I get weaker and I can't seem to gather the energy to take care of her. I have a nanny, but I'm not being a good mother. I want you and Stella to take her, so I know she's safe and loved."

"Stel…Stella?" Mac stammered, wondering how in the world Peyton could have known about their relationship when he and Stella had both been extremely vigilant about keeping it out of the lab. To his knowledge, none of their co-workers had the slightest clue that they were involved romantically.

"Emily will need a woman in her life. And Stella…" Peyton's voice caught on a sob. "Stella will be a good mother to her."

Across the ocean, Mac shook his head. He was still mostly in shock, hell he'd just found out that the woman he'd been half in love with for the better part of a year was dying and that he was a father all within fifteen minutes. But he could hear Peyton's tears and could only imagine how her heart must have been breaking. "You're her mother, Peyton. Nothing will ever change that. But Stella will make an excellent aunt."

At that sentence, Mac froze. Stella loved babies; he knew that for a fact. And while he had no doubt that she'd revel in her role as aunt, he wasn't entirely sure how she'd react to finding out that he had a child who they were both now expected to raise. He knew she'd be understanding, even sympathetic. He just hoped that she wouldn't be hurt because while the last thing he'd ever want to do was hurt Stella, his rock, he had someone else to think of now too, a baby.

"Mac?" Peyton asked tentatively when he had been quiet for several minutes. "When can you get here?"

Her voice had shaken him out of his stupor and Mac blinked. "I'll check for flights when I get home tonight. I'll try to get one for tomorrow afternoon or the next day, there are some things I need to take care of on my end. I'll be there as soon as I can though, I promise."

"Thank you," Peyton whispered. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about Emily Claire before."

"We'll worry about that later. Would…is it alright with you if I bring Stella along? I'll need some help on the flight home."

"Of course. Just call with the flight information." Peyton yawned in spite of herself.

"Try to get some rest and I'll be there in a couple of days," Mac promised before hanging up. He sat in his office, staring through the glass walls into the hallway without really seeing anything at all. Thoughts were spinning through his head far too quickly for him to make sense out of any of them; much less come up with a plan of attack for the new course his life had suddenly veered off on. The one thing that was very clear was that he needed to talk to someone about everything. Not just someone, his best friend. With that, Mac stood up from his desk, grabbed his suit coat from the rack, and headed out of the office.

When Mac arrived at Stella's apartment, he was still somewhat in a daze. He used his key in the door automatically. They'd had keys to each other's apartments for years before they began a relationship, though then they'd been for emergency use only. Now, however, they came and went freely and frequently between their two homes. Mac shrugged off his suit coat and draped it over the couch as he toed off his work shoes.

He knew he was lucky to even be allowed into Stella's apartment. While she usually had the rule about no men in her home, he had already been in her apartment many times before they began dating. After Claire's death, he had even stayed with her for several weeks. When they began dating, Stella had considered enacting her rule, barring him from the apartment to keep her safe haven, if need be. However, she'd quickly realized that if things went sour with Mac she'd have move anyway because her life was already so entwined with his that, whether she enacted the rule or not, the apartment was still filled with memories of him.

"Mac?" Stella called, peeking around the kitchen with her familiar grin. "You're early, dinner isn't quite…" she trailed off as she came all the way around the corner and the smile fell from her face when she saw the look in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Mac reached out and pulled her close to him, breathing deeply the familiar scent of her shampoo. His grip tightened and Stella held him tighter in response. After several minutes, he pulled back and framed her face, kissing her gently. "Can we talk?" he asked softly.

Stella's stomach clenched. She knew this wasn't going to be good. "Of course." She took his hand and led him to the couch. Once there, Mac sank down, pulling Stella next to him. They were both quiet for several minutes before she couldn't stand the silence any longer. "What happened?"

Mac drew a deep breath. "After you left tonight, I got a phone call from Peyton."

Stella's heart dropped. Yes, she had liked the other woman and had even approved of her relationship with Mac. Of course, that had only been until Peyton had done something that Stella found completely unforgivable. She'd hurt Mac by breaking up with him, not in person or even on the phone, but by a letter. Stella thought it was incredibly cold for the first woman Mac had opened his heart to since Claire's death to treat him that way. And still a little part of her was nervous. She loved Mac, had for years, and wanted nothing more than his happiness. There was a small voice in her head, taunting her that Peyton was going to come back and take Mac away from her.

"She told me…she has cancer, Stel."

Stella's jaw dropped in horror. "Oh my God," she whispered. Okay, she was angry at Peyton, but she had once considered her a friend and wouldn't wish cancer on her worst enemy.

"It started in her breast, she had a double mastectomy. They tried radiation and chemo, but it was too advanced. She…she said it was in her liver and her stomach and her lungs. According to her doctors, there's nothing else they can do." Mac's eyes filled with tears and Stella leaned forward, embracing him tightly as she blinked her own tears back.

"God Mac, I'm so sorry," she whispered as she held him and was surprised when he pulled away, instead holding both of her hands in his.

"There's more. A few months after I left London, Peyton found out she was pregnant." Stella gasped, but Mac continued. "She didn't tell me, I swear I didn't know. But that's the reason she called. She wants me to come to London and pick up our daughter."

"Daughter?" Stella squeaked, shocked. "You have a daughter? Why didn't Peyton tell you?"

Mac sighed, running a tired hand over his face. "She said that if she'd told me, I would have come to London. She's right, I would have. And she said that if I went to London, I would have ended up resenting her, maybe even the baby."

Stella saw the many emotions playing over his face and did the only thing that she could think of. Gently sliding her hands out of his, she reached out and hugged him tightly. "You would never have resented your child, Mac. Peyton should have told you."

Mac held her tightly to him, wondering briefly how she could always manage to soothe his soul. "I agree, but there's nothing we can do about it now. She made a choice and I have to figure out how to deal with what comes next."

Stella pulled back and shook her head slightly. "No Mac, _we_ need to figure out how to deal with what comes next."

"You're sure?" Mac asked softly, running his fingers through her dark curls.

She stared at him, aghast. "Of course I'm sure! What…what kind of question is that?!"

"Well, I really wasn't sure how you'd react, if you'd be even remotely interested in helping me raise her, raising another woman's child."

Green eyes flashed dangerously and Stella had to count to thirty before she was calm enough to answer without snapping because right then, snapping wasn't what Mac needed. And he probably hadn't meant it the way it had come out anyway. "You must have a pretty low opinion of me to think that I'd turn away from your child, just because I hadn't given birth to her," she had tried to be nice, really, but the hurt and anger came through in her voice anyway.

As she began to pull away from him, Mac caught his girlfriend's wrist, holding her in place gently. She knew she could break the hold if she tried, but she paused instead. "I'm sorry," Mac whispered. "That didn't come out right."

"If you don't want my help with the baby, just say so," Stella's voice rang with pain and Mac tugged her gently so she was seated on his lap.

She refused to look at him, afraid of seeing rejection, so he cupped her chin and turned her head. When she still wouldn't meet his eyes he spoke softly, pleadingly. "Stella." Stella sighed but raised her eyes to meet his. "I want your help with Emily. I _need_ your help with Emily. I've just had my world turned upside down and the whole way over here I was going through the worst case scenario. I was afraid that, even though I want you here more than anything, you…well…wouldn't want to be a part of it. I didn't really think that you'd leave, but I was trying to prepare myself for the worst."

She was quiet, absorbing what he had just said and the implications. Finally, she nodded. "Her name is Emily?"

"Peyton said she named her Emily Claire. She'll be one next week."

"When are you leaving?" Stella whispered, already beginning to create a mental to-do list.

"I haven't looked at flights yet but I'm hoping tomorrow afternoon or the next day. I have to talk to Sinclair about emergency leave. Can you be ready by then?"

Confusion darkened her green eyes as she looked at him. "Can I be ready by then?"

"I want you to come with me," Mac answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I need you there."

Stella sighed. "But if I come, who'll run the lab? And someone needs to get your apartment ready. It isn't exactly toddler friendly, you know."

Mac groaned in frustration. "I'll find someone to cover the lab Stella. And how long can it take to get a room ready for Emily?"

"I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that. I suppose Hawkes could run the lab, it'll only be for a few days, right?"

"Probably a week. I'm sure Peyton will at least want to spend Emily's first birthday with her." Unspoken was the fact that it would be the only birthday Peyton would spend with her daughter.

"We still haven't solved the problem of setting up the apartment. I'm sure Hawkes wouldn't be thrilled with that task."

"We could ask Lindsay and Danny?" Mac suggested, though he was kidding about the latter.

It worked because Stella chuckled. "I would pay money to see Danny picking out baby bedding, but do you want the entire NYPD to know about this? He and Flack gossip like old women."

Mac laughed softly. "Okay, so Danny's out. By association, so is Flack. Adam would decorate the room in some weird online simulation game."

"You mentioned Lindsay. We could trust her. Unless…do you want everyone to know now?"

"No. It would bring up far too many questions while we're gone and can't answer them. I'm not even sure that I have the answers to them. I would feel bad though, asking Lindsay to lie to Danny."

"He'll forgive her," Stella assured him, resting her head on his shoulder. "And I think she'll enjoy it." She stood up then, pulling him with her. "Call Sinclair now, I'll check the flights out of JFK for tomorrow. But we should at least meet with the team before we leave and tell them we'll be gone."

While Mac dealt with Sinclair, something Stella didn't envy him at all, she managed to book them on a 4:00 flight out of JFK. Then, because she needed a return date, she gave them ten days in London and booked an extra seat on the way back for Emily. She looked up from the computer when Mac's hands rested on her shoulders.

"I explained everything, in far more detail than I wanted to. He agreed to give me six weeks paternity leave. But you only have two weeks."

Stella nodded. "You need to pack. I'll call Lindsay and fill her in."

Mac chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I need to pack? Hon, have you ever seen how much you pack? Why don't you get started and I'll check on dinner. We can call Lindsay and Hawkes after we eat."

She arched an eyebrow at him which, considering that she was leaning backwards and looking at Mac upside down was less effective than she'd planned. "I can be packed in less than an hour."

"Get started then," he smiled. "Do you want to stay here tonight, or go over to my place?"

"Where are you planning on being?" she asked back.

"Wherever you are," Mac admitted.

"Doesn't make sense to go to your place and pack then come back here," Stella pointed out, pleased that he wanted to spend the night with her. They didn't every night and she'd been a little scared that the dual shocks of finding out that Peyton was dying and that she'd born his child would make Mac retreat into his famous shell, keeping everyone including her out.

"Very true. So since we're here, you pack."

Stella's brow furrowed. "Did I just win or lose this debate?"

"I'm not sure," he smiled. "But you're wasting your hour of packing."

She stood up quickly. "The tickets should be in my e-mail any second, can you print them?"

"Got it." Mac smiled as he watched Stella hurry towards the bedroom, probably mentally panicking at only having an hour to pack.

In the bedroom, Stella dragged her suitcase out of the closet, dumped out the shoes that she'd stuffed in there, and threw it open on her bed. Going drawer by drawer, day by day, and outfit by outfit, she was able to pack in forty minutes, a record for her. She dragged the suitcase off the bed and wheeled it to the front door, walking into the kitchen. "All packed."

Mac turned from the stove where he'd just set the chicken dish from the oven. "Good timing." He walked over to Stella and pulled her into his arms. "Thank you," he whispered. "I'm sorry I'm throwing you into this."

"You're getting thrown into this too," she reminded him, holding him tightly and rubbing his back gently. "We're going to be okay though. We'll make this work."

Despite himself, Mac felt himself relax slightly, believing her words though he knew she couldn't guarantee success anymore than he could. "I love you, Stella."

She smiled and kissed him lightly. "I love you too. Come on, we have a lot we need to get done before tomorrow." She skirted around him and grabbed two plates, dishing them up expertly before hurrying into the dining room. They both knew the routine well enough to know that Mac would bring drinks with him. But before they sat down, Stella grabbed a pad of paper, her reading glasses, and a pen.

"What are you doing?" Mac asked, cutting a piece of his chicken and taking a bite.

"You know how you asked how long it would take to set up Emily's room?" Stella responded, not looking up as she added something else to her list.

"Yeah. She'll need a crib and a stroller. I already have a dresser. Peyton should have clothes and toys for her."

Stella sighed, rolling her eyes as she pushed her glasses onto her head. "Babies need a lot more than just someplace to sleep and ride, Mac. Just how much time have you spent around babies?"

"Not much," he reluctantly admitted. "Only child of only children. No cousins."

"First of all, your apartment is very nice, but the guest room doesn't exactly scream nursery. So it'll need at least some decorating. Yes, you'll need a crib. And a changing table. Emily's not one yet, she's still in diapers. Plus, diaper pails, bedding, a rocking chair would be good, um," Stella consulted her list, shrugged, and just handed it over.

Mac glanced down the list, then back up at his girlfriend. "Baby gate?"

"Do you want to be able to let her play in her room unattended? Trust me, it's a good idea. I know Peyton will have a lot of these things too, but you'll need them right away." She took the list back and continued writing, only to realize a few minutes later that Mac hadn't taken another bite. "Mac? What's wrong?"

He shook his head, face pale. "I have no idea what I'm doing here Stel. I'm about to become a parent to a baby I don't even know. How in the hell am I supposed to be a good father when I didn't even know Emily existed?"

Stella reached over, covering his hand gently with hers. "You'll learn, Mac. No one knows how to be a parent instinctively; you have to learn as you go. You're in the same boat as every other new parent out there. None of them knew their child before they were born. You're just getting a little bit later of a start."

"I won't be able to do this without you," Mac whispered.

"Yes you would," Stella smiled. "But you won't have to."


	2. Chapter 2

Leaving her apartment for ten days was easier for Stella than one would have expected. She didn't have pets though she liked animals, and Mac liked to tease her that the only plant she couldn't kill was a cactus so those were out too. She threw away any food that would expire before she returned, made sure the windows were shut, and the coffee pot turned off, and locked the door behind her.

As they stood in the elevator going down, Mac reached over and linked fingers with Stella. She smiled reassuringly and rested her head against his shoulder. "I was thinking while I was packing," she said softly.

"Hm?"

"I think we should call Lindsay and Hawkes to come over tonight so we can explain everything to them. It's not fair to Hawkes to drop the bombshell that we'll both be gone for ten days and he's in charge without a heads up. And we're asking a pretty big favor of Lindsay."

"Do we want to tell them the truth?" he asked, rubbing Stella's hand with his thumb gently.

"That's up to you," she answered. "We'll have to tell Lindsay though."

He nodded. "I think we should tell Hawkes too. He and Peyton were really close."

"Are we telling the team everything tomorrow?"

"I don't think so," Mac answered as the elevator dinged and he rolled Stella's suitcase out. "They'll have so many questions and I don't have the answers yet."

He loaded the suitcase into the back of his Suburban and opened the door for Stella. "We have to find a daycare facility," she reminded him. "Unless you want to use the one at the lab?"

"I don't know," Mac sighed, sounding overwhelmed as he started the car. "Is the facility at work good?"

Stella shrugged. "I haven't heard any complaints. Why don't we stop by tomorrow before we leave?"

"Okay. Call Linds and Hawkes when we get to my place?"

Stella nodded. "I'll have them come in about an hour. That should give you time to pack and me time to look around and make sure my list is complete."

They arrived at Mac's townhouse and unloaded Stella's suitcase from the car. While Mac went upstairs to pack his own bag, Stella pulled out her cell phone and dialed Hawkes first.

After three rings the CSI picked up. "What's up, Stell?" he asked.

"Hey, are you busy right now?"

Hawkes glanced at the computer chess game he'd been playing. "Nope, where's the scene?"

"No scene. Can you come by Mac's place in an hour? We need to talk to you."

"Sure, is everything okay?"

Stella paused. It was a typical question, but she honestly had no clue of the answer. So she lied. "Yeah, just come by."

"Got it."

Hawkes hung up and Stella took a deep breath before making the next call. "Hello?" the voice on the other end answered, followed by a squeal and an annoyed, "Stop it, it's Stella."

"Hey Linds, um, are you with Danny?"

"Yeah," she answered, obviously confused. "Do you need to talk to him?"

"No! I mean, I need your help on a project, but Danny can't know about it."

"O…kay," Lindsay said as she stood up and walked away from her boyfriend. "What's wrong?"

"Can you meet us at Mac's place in an hour? I'll explain then. And I'm sorry to interrupt your date with Danny."

"Yeah, I'll see you in an hour. Are you okay Stell?"

The obvious concern in Lindsay's voice made Stella even surer that they'd picked the right people to help. "I'm fine, kiddo. Thanks."

Realizing that she needed more help than just her memory to finish making the list for Lindsay of what the townhouse would need to become baby-friendly, Stella grabbed her pen and paper and sat down at Mac's computer. Within minutes she was scribbling furiously and jumped when Mac rested his hands on her shoulders.

"Sorry," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I thought you heard me come in."

"I was double checking my list for what we'll need against some of these lists online."

"Are they coming?"

"They'll be here in," Stella looked at the clock on the computer. "Fifteen minutes. I think Lindsay and I should look at some of the decorating things tonight online so you can have some input."

Mac smiled. "I think I'll leave the decorating decisions in your and Lindsay's capable hands."

"Does Peyton know when we're getting in?" Stella asked.

"I haven't called her yet," he answered. "It's 1:15 in the morning in London, she's sleeping. She sounded so exhausted when I talked to her."

Stella stood up from the computer and gathered her list from the printer. "We'll call her tomorrow morning. I also made reservations at a hotel for us. I wasn't sure if Peyton would be up for two houseguests."

"You're an amazing woman, Stella," Mac murmured, drawing her close to him and brushing his lips against hers.

She smiled and kissed him back. "Thank you. You're pretty amazing yourself. Did you get everything packed?"

"I think so. Clothes, IDs, I should be good." Mac took Stella's fingers and led her to the couch, sitting down and tugging her with him. "I want to warn you about something Peyton said to me tonight."

"What?" Stella asked, eyebrows arching. They'd already had so much thrown at them that day that she couldn't imagine what else could happen. "Does she not know I'm coming?"

"Actually, I told her that I was hoping to bring you. But she said that you'd be a good mother to Emily."

Stella's eyes grew wide. "Wow Mac. I'm flattered, but Peyton will always be Emily's mother."

He smiled, brushing his knuckles across her cheek. "That's more or less what I told her. I just wanted to make sure you knew that Peyton knows that you're going to be very important to Emily. And she's okay with that."

"Thank you," Stella whispered, a small smiled on her face. She leaned in to kiss Mac again but before she could the doorbell rang. "They're here," she whispered.

"I'll get it," Mac said. "You answering my door might cause questions."

"Right, because we're not going to have enough of those tonight," she mumbled, running her fingers through her curls.

Mac opened the door to find both Hawkes and Lindsay standing there, obviously confused. "Thank you both for coming so quickly," he said, standing aside to let them in and taking the light windbreakers they'd both worn.

"Mac, Stella called us both over here, but wouldn't tell us why. What's going on?" Hawkes asked, looking around the townhouse.

"Are you guys okay?" Lindsay asked worriedly. She'd noticed Stella's suitcase by the stairs and knew that something was definitely wrong.

"Come into the living room," Mac answered both questions by not really answering them at all.

Hawkes and Lindsay exchanged a confused look, but followed Mac into the living room, Lindsay toeing off her shoes first. When they entered, Stella stood up from the computer.

"Thanks for coming," she smiled slightly. "Have a seat. Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm fine," Lindsay answered, growing more perplexed by the minute.

"What's going on?" Hawkes repeated.

Mac glanced at Stella who nodded and began. "Tonight, I got a call at the lab from Peyton." He paused and drew a deep breath. "She told me that she found out several months ago that she has cancer."

"What?" Sheldon gasped. "What kind? What stage? Who's her oncologist?"

Mac sighed, he knew that hearing this would hurt his friend, but it had to be done. "She said that she has breast cancer, but by the time they found it, it had metastasized to her stomach, liver, and lungs."

Linsday gasped, one hand flying to cover her mouth and Stella reached out, gently resting a hand on Mac's back, supporting him.

"She said…she doesn't have much longer and she needs me to come to London."

"Why?" Lindsay asked, hoping the question wouldn't sound too insensitive.

"After I left London, Peyton found out she was pregnant. She needs Stella and I to come get my daughter."

"Oh my God," Lindsay whispered.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Sheldon murmured. "We've kept in touch…"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you like this, Sheldon," Mac said softly, understanding the man's pain. "But the reason we asked you here is that we have favors to ask of both of you."

"Anything," Lindsay said immediately.

"With both of us being gone," Mac glanced at Stella, who nodded. "We need someone to run the lab. Sheldon, we'd like to ask you to fill in for me while we're gone."

Sheldon's mouth opened and closed a couple of times. "Okay," he finally said slowly.

"It'll only be for two weeks," Stella added, speaking for the first time since Mac had begun to explain. "I could only get two weeks emergency leave. Mac will have six though. Lindsay, we need your help getting everything ready here. Obviously, Mac's place isn't baby-proof, or set up for a baby."

Lindsay nodded. "How old is she? What's her name?"

"Emily Claire," Mac answered. "And she'll be one next week. Why don't you ladies start on that project and I'll go over some things with Sheldon."

"When are you leaving?" Sheldon asked, standing, still somewhat in shock.

"We're on a 4:00 flight tomorrow from JFK. We want to meet with the entire team tomorrow before we leave, but we're not going to tell them any more than we're going to London."

Sheldon nodded and followed Mac to his office while Stella took the pad of paper she'd made her list on and sat down next to Lindsay.

"Ready to get started?" Stella asked softly. "I'm sorry to throw you into this Linds, but we don't have a lot of time."

Lindsay nodded. "I understand." She took a deep breath and blew it out. "What do you need me to do?"

"I don't know what we'll bring back with us, though I'd assume most of her clothes and toys. I haven't looked at anything specific yet, but we'll need pretty much everything on this list. All furniture, bottles, baby gates, bibs, some clothes and toys…"

"Um, Stella? I really hate to bring this up because I realize this is an emergency…"

"We'll leave you Mac's credit card so you don't have to worry about cost. I'm thinking that furniture should be a dark cherry to match the rest of the furniture. I also want to warn you that I'd suggest refraining from anything overly frilly. She's a little girl, but she's Mac's little girl. I think too much pink would make him uncomfortable."

Lindsay nodded. "No problem. Do you want to start looking at ideas now? I really want you guys to be happy with the nursery."

Stella grinned. "Good plan. Are sure you're going to be okay not telling Danny this?"

"I wish I could tell him, I'm going to be spending a lot of time on this. But I'll keep it a secret. You will let me tell him eventually, right?"

"When we get back, we'll come clean. But Mac's worried that they'll have questions we don't have answers to. Which right now, is most of them."

Lindsay nodded as Stella gestured to the computer. They sat down and Stella typed "baby bedding" into the search engine. She clicked on the first link that came up and began scrolling through the options. Some looked decent, but Stella clicked on one of the pictures to enlarge it and both she and Lindsay gasped in horror.

"It…it looks like a deranged clown designed that," Lindsay managed to get out between laughs, her eyes the size of saucers.

"That's appalling!" Stella laughed. The room was designed in black, white, and hot pink with the colors swirling through a variety of patterns, polka dots, stripes, and large flowers. "That wouldn't soothe a baby it would give the poor thing nightmares! Okay, that's an example of what NOT to choose."

"No kidding," Lindsay laughed, slowly calming down. "I'm guessing no characters either?"

"Probably not."

An hour later, Hawkes and Lindsay left and Stella wrapped her arms around Mac from behind. "It's late," she said softly. "And we have a busy day tomorrow."

"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep," Mac answered. "Too many thoughts are going through my head right now. You go on."

Stella shook her head. "Not without you. Come on, at least change out of your work clothes and get comfortable."

Mac sighed and turned, wrapping his arm around Stella's waist as he headed for the stairs. "Sheldon's nervous about taking over while we're gone."

"He'll do well," Stella assured him.

"I know. Is Lindsay okay with her assignment?"

"She's nervous about lying to Danny and that we won't like the results. But she'll do a good job."

They readied for bed automatically, but when Stella looked at the bed, Mac just shook his head. She wasn't surprised really, she'd known Mac Taylor for many years and when he had something on his mind, he didn't sleep.

"We've done everything we can do tonight, Mac."

"I know. I just, I wish I'd known about her, Stella. I have a daughter and, as terrible as it sounds, if Peyton hadn't gotten sick, I might never have known about her. I deserved to know."

"Yes, you did. But we can't change that. You know about her now, and you're going to be a good father."

"How do you know that? You can't predict the future, Stell."

That made her chuckle. "I know. But the evidence is on my side."

"Evidence?" Mac arched an eyebrow and held out his hand, pulling her close.

"Evidence," she repeated. "The way you put up with Lindsay's demonstrations, every time, the way you handle Danny and Adam having chair races down the hall or playing hang-man on the walls."

Mac laughed softly. "Somehow, Lindsay's never grasped the difference between boss and guinea pig."

"Try to sleep, okay? We're meeting with everyone at 9:00 tomorrow morning."

He was going to resist, but saw the tired look in Stella's eyes and knew that she'd stay awake with him. "Okay, we'll go to bed."

Much to Mac's surprise, when the alarm went off the next morning, it woke him up. Stella was tangled in his arms, her head on his chest and her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. She groaned at the noise and snuggled in closer. "Turn it off," she mumbled.

Mac hit the snooze button and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Go back to sleep."

But instead, she stretched and looked up at him sleepily. "Did you sleep at all?"

"Surprisingly, yes. Ready to meet with the team?"

"Mind if I shower and get dressed first?" she smirked.

"Oh, but you're so cute when you first wake up," Mac grinned.

Stella smacked his chest and sat up. "You're in a better mood."

"Well as much as it pains me to admit it, you were right. There's nothing I can do until we get to London. We've made as many plans as we can and things are going to be taken care of here."

Stella leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Good, you're learning. I'm always right."

"Uh-huh. Just get ready."

She smiled and cupped his cheek, suddenly serious. "It'll work out. We'll make it."

"Thank you." He kissed her once more before getting up to shower.

When they entered the building, Mac glanced at his watch. "I think we have some time to check out the daycare center."

Stella nodded. "I think we should wait before we make any firm decisions. We won't know if this facility is a good fit for Emily until we know her. But it won't hurt to look."

They walked into the daycare and looked around. It seemed to be a nice facility, a good teacher to student ratio, 1:3 in the infant room, very clean, and most importantly, open 24 hours. But Mac just looked at Stella blankly. He had no idea what was the correct choice and was terrified of making the wrong decision and harming his daughter in some way.

Stella nodded and told the day care director that they'd be in touch. They walked to the elevator side by side, careful to keep a distance between them since they were at work. Once the doors closed however, Stella linked hands with Mac, silently letting him know she was still with him.

Once the doors opened, Stella and Mac headed to their own offices to gather what they would need for the trip, tie up what loose ends they could, and sign some paperwork. Twenty minutes later, Lindsay knocked on Stella's door.

"You coming, Stel? It's almost 9."

Stella looked up and smiled. "Yep. Here are my open cases. I'm really sorry I'm dumping all of this on you…"

Lindsay took the files and rested a hand on Stella's arm. "Anything I can do, Stella."

"Thanks, kiddo." The women walked into Mac's office and found the rest of the team, plus Flack and Sid already assembled.

Lindsay took a seat on the couch next to Danny and Stella stood next to Mac who cleared his throat.

"Thank you for coming," he paused, unsure of how to continue. "Today, Stella and I are flying to England for ten days."

"Why?" Adam asked, brow furrowing.

"Last night, I received a call from…a friend in England, requiring my help. Stella is coming with me."

"Is there somethin' you're not tellin' us?" Flack asked suspiciously.

"Until Stella gets back, in two weeks, Hawkes is in charge. Lindsay's second in command. We'll be checking in daily."

"When will you be back?" Danny asked. "An' you didn' answer Flack's question."

"I'll be back in six weeks. And I didn't answer Flack's question because I don't know all of the answers yet."

"Are you sick, Mac?" Sid asked worriedly.

"Are you?" Flack demanded before Mac could answer.

"If you're sick, we're gonna wanna come with an' support you," Danny added firmly.

Mac sighed, pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "I'm not sick, I promise," he ground out. This was not going the way he'd hoped it would. Though why he'd thought that some of the top investigators in the country wouldn't question him picking up and leaving, he didn't know.

"Did someone die?" Adam asked, voice quiet, trying to be sympathetic.

Mac nearly groaned. "Fine. Peyton called. She's sick, very sick. Stella and I are going over there for two weeks. And any other questions not related to the running of the lab will have to wait until I get back."

"I've given Lindsay my open cases," Stella jumped in, wanting to let Mac off the hook, at least a little.

"Why are you going with?" Adam asked. "No offense, but it seems like it would be a personal thing…"

"That will be answered in due time, Adam." Stella arched an eyebrow, letting him know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the subject was closed.

"Yes ma'am," Adam answered.

"Does anyone have any questions about the running of the lab while we're away?" Mac asked. When everyone shook their heads, he nodded. "Though just to be clear, there will be no chair races, paper airplane fights, and no blowing up of the lab in my absence."

Flack snorted. "No, only you get to blow up the lab."

"And with that, we have a flight to catch," Mac looked meaningfully at Stella who nodded.

"Call if it's an emergency, otherwise we'll be checking in daily." Stella hugged everyone good-bye and she and Mac walked into the elevator.

Once the doors closed, Mac linked fingers with her. "They want answers."

"Of course they do, they're our team. And we'll tell them when we're ready."

Mac smiled thankfully at her and they walked together to the SUV. The ride to the airport was silent, both lost in their own thoughts. Glancing at Mac, Stella saw the trouble in his eyes. She reached over and laid her hand on the console, palm up. After a few seconds, she felt Mac's warm palm in hers and squeezed it in silent support.

Mac glanced at his long time partner and couldn't help but smile softly. He may have only been dating Stella officially for six months, but the decade of friendship that preceded the romance was what had solidified the relationship. When they had first been introduced as partners Mac's more taciturn nature had been slightly overwhelmed by Stella's vivacious personality. But over time, their personalities had rubbed off on each other. She had drawn Mac out of his shell, but patiently. And after September 11th, when Claire had died, Stella was the one person he'd been able to talk to. In turn, she had mellowed slightly. She was still far more outgoing and talkative than he was and, if Mac was honest with himself, Stella was much better at playing politics than he was, in a good way of course.

But neither felt the need to fill the silences with words. Stella had learned the hard way that when Mac was thinking something over, sometimes he needed to be pushed and sometimes he needed to mull things over by himself for awhile. She knew that when he was ready, when it counted, he would talk it out with her. They made their way through security and Mac glanced at Stella. "Do you want to get a coffee before the plane takes off?"

She chuckled, but shook her head. "I try to avoid airplane bathrooms if I can. I won't be able to this flight, but I can at least put it off as long as possible."

That made Mac laugh. "Noted. And probably a good policy. You're sure you're okay with this, Stel?"

Understanding what he meant, she linked fingers with him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's not going to be easy, I'm not trying to pretend it will be. But we'll make it through. I'll take my cues from you this week, do whatever you need me to do."

"You're amazing," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Stella just smiled as they sat to wait for their flight to be called. An hour later they boarded their flight and eight hours later Mac and Stella began waiting to go through customs. They hailed a cab, but when Stella told the cabbie the name of their hotel, Mac shook his head.

"I want to head straight to Peyton's."

"Mac," Stella sighed patiently. "I know you want to meet Emily but it's 7:00 in the morning. Let's get checked into the hotel and unpacked and we can head over in a few hours."

"I don't want to wait, Stella! I want to go over to Peyton's, meet my daughter, and figure out what is going on."

"I know," she soothed. "But we're tired, we haven't eaten, and frankly I smell like airplane. Let's check in, and we'll call Peyton to let her know that we're here. Even though she knows we're coming, she would want a heads up. We're going to figure this mess out and make it work, but we'll both be better equipped to deal with everything after we've had a nap and some breakfast."

Mac opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. Stella was right and he knew it. As they'd gotten closer and closer to England, his anger at Peyton for hiding Emily from him had begun to grow and boil. Undoubtedly Stella had picked up on that fact.

"Fine. I'll call Peyton and tell her we arrived." As they drove through the city, Mac dialed Peyton's number.

"Hello?" a strange British voice answered.

"Hello, I'd like to speak with Peyton?" Mac said, his brow furrowing.

"One moment, please. Ms. Driscoll?" the voice called out. A few moments later, the voice was back. "Ms. Driscoll is, um, unavailable right now. May I take your name and she'll call you back?"

"Sure. My name's Mac Taylor. Just tell her I'm in town and to give me a call." He hung up and Stella looked at him, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"The nanny said Peyton was unavailable. But she knew we were arriving today…"

"Maybe she's in the shower. It's okay, Mac."

"I don't like feeling so out of control."

"I know." She reached over and squeezed his hand. Stella knew Mac was upset and she understood. It was hard though. She was angry for Mac, sad for Emily and Peyton, and worried for all of their futures. And she was extremely nervous about their upcoming meeting. She was truly hoping that some sleep and food would give their nerves a chance to smooth out and let them calm down, at least a little.

The hotel was nicely appointed and, more importantly, close to Peyton's house. When they opened the door, Mac's jaw dropped. "Wow Stel, this, this is really nice."

She smiled and lifted her suitcase onto the bed. "I thought we'd need some space if we bring Emily back with us some night. She's almost definitely crawling and possibly walking, so she'll be mobile. Plus, I thought it would be nice to unwind someplace a little nicer than a typical hotel room."

"Thank you," he said with a smile, wrapping his arms around her waist. "And you were right about resting first. Let's get unpacked and lay down."

She grinned and turned in his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck. "I'm glad you realized I'm always right," she whispered as she kissed him, then hurried into the bathroom with her bag of toiletries.

"Hey, I didn't say always!" Mac exclaimed, following her.

"I know, the always goes unsaid." She smiled as she came out.

But Mac's new calm slowly evaporated when, after unpacking and taking a nap, Peyton still hadn't called. Stella convinced him to walk with her to a bakery for some late breakfast where he was still exuding so much tension that it was rubbing off on Stella who found herself getting cranky. Finally on the way back to the hotel at 11:15, Peyton called and suggested that they come by around 2:00 so Emily would be almost done with her afternoon nap.

"I'm going to call Lindsay and tell her we arrived," Stella said when they got back to the hotel.

Mac nodded. "I'm going to see if I can find a toy store."

"Happy shopping," Stella smiled and kissed him briefly. "I'll see you back here when you're done."

Finally, at 1:30, Mac and Stella left the hotel with Mac clutching a stuffed cat for Emily. "I'm nervous, Stel."

"I know. Let's go meet your daughter."


End file.
